Our goal was to modernize Vanguard’s Nonqualified Retirement Plan experience by simplifying complex workflows, improving visibility into participant communications, and creating a more intuitive experience for the plan sponsors managing nonqualified retirement plans.
1
Ecosystem Mapping
What is Nonqualified?
Nonqualified in this context refers to types of retirement plans offered by a company that do not fit the typical, qualified, 401K model. This can include pension style retirement plans, but it can also include other forms of retirement or investment opportunities, frequently offered to those in the company who are C-suite or considered “high earners”.
Who does it serve?
Our target audience consisted of those users who utilize Vanguard’s record keeping software, My Plan Manager(MPM) and the Newport site (Vanguards partnering organization for NQP plans) This user base consists of plan sponsors with non-qualified plans as well as Newport CSM’s (customer service managers) who utilize the platform to service participants of the non-qualified plans.
Two Organizations. One User Experience.
Creating a seamless experience required understanding how the two organizations workflows and teams came together to support a single user journey.
2
The Current Experience
Current state
Plan sponsor users struggle to navigate across multiple platforms to access information, often describing the experience as unintuitive.
Switching between systems feels misaligned with sponsors’ mental models, increasing cognitive load and friction.
Sponsors do not consistently perceive Vanguard and Newport as operating as a single, cohesive service experience.
Due to the high-stakes nature of the participants they serve, sponsors demonstrate heightened sensitivity to errors and inconsistencies.
I don't feel like I can always meet the standards that my clients expect. I wish that I had the same tools [as internal CRA's]. - Newport CSM
Bad NQP experiences can escalate quickly to the Plan Sponsor contact and have significant impact on recordkeeping relationships and business goals. - Vanguard Account manager
Needs
Clarify transitions between MPM and Newport to preserve user context
Clarify the roles of Vanguard and Newport within one shared experience
Simplify NQP workflows and improve user confidence
Design a scalable foundation for evolving needs
3
Defining Service Roles
We started by clarifying the roles Vanguard and Newport played in servicing NQP plans. Sponsors struggled to understand who was responsible for what, this was a confusion that mirrored ambiguity within the business itself. By mapping core plan sponsor tasks across both organizations and comparing them to qualified-plan workflows, we identified gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies. This created a shared language for both teams and a clearer experience for users navigating between services.
4
Designing System Continuity
With the new structure in place, we developed a content/design strategy where MPM tasks would live in the green header at the top of the page and all Newport actions would happen below. This created a clear visual cue that users were still in the MPM environment.
Next, we designed the main page around six deep links that took users directly to the relevant sections of the Newport site. This made navigation faster and more intuitive, while clearly signaling when users were moving between systems.
Uncovering User Friction
We conducted two rounds of interviews across plan sponsor and internal CRA user groups to understand NQP workflows. Synthesized insights revealed key friction points and opportunities to improve the experience.
5
Final design
6
Phase 2- Metrics that Matter
NQP went on to build out a second feature related to a larger Vangaurd initiative called "Metrics that Matter". To learn more information and see the related deck click below.
Impact
Protected Existing Assets
A 3-point increase in CSAT reflected a less frustrating experience for plan sponsors communicating with Vanguard and submitting documents. By reducing friction and the need to follow up on unresolved submissions, the experience helped reduce pressure on service teams while supporting retention of existing client assets.
Reduced Regulatory Fines
By reducing notification delays and making cases easier for back-office employees to find and act on, we shortened resolution time by 24 hours. Faster resolution helped teams consistently meet the externally regulated deadline, reducing the frequency of fines and avoiding unnecessary costs.
Protected High-value Client Relationships
Redesigning our side of the experience helped rebuild trust with Newport and opened up greater collaboration across both organizations. This gave us access to the data and product decision-makers needed to improve the broader NQP experience and protect high-value client relationships.
